CALL ME SOMETIME

By Sr. Agent Rick Markway

In this age of modern conveniences the cell phone ranks right up there with the best of them. These wonders can be a great asset for receiving complaints, keeping in touch with fellow agents and family, and helping to communicate in emergencies. Unfortunately they can also work against us when a violator uses one to avoid being caught. Sometimes we can turn around this ploy, and it worked against three night hunters recently in Rapides Parish.

On the early morning of December 28, 2003 Sgt. Eric Stokes, Senior Agent Travis Burnett and Senior Agent Kevin Hill were in the Alexander State Forest area when they received a complaint of night hunting activity nearby. When they arrived they found that a land owner had heard shots fired from his pasture and had found two individuals hiding with a freshly killed doe nearby. The agents then started their investigation. Seeing as the two men were on foot, the agents sought information concerning the “getaway vehicle.” The landowner recalled seeing a truck in the area as he searched for the “hunters,” but the men were not too cooperative in giving truthful information concerning the mode of transportation used. Here is where the cell phone came into play.

The landowner stated that he had seen one of the men make some calls on a cell phone as he approached them. He relayed this information to Sgt. Stokes and Stokes asked to see the man’s cell phone. Stokes went to the call log and noticed that there were two calls to the same number around the 2am time frame when the deer was killed. He called this number and talked to a woman who was up and waiting for a phone call. I don’t think she was waiting for a game warden to call. She admitted to being the driver of the truck in question and showed the agents the spotlight and gun used to kill the deer. Two days later an additional doe was found in the pasture making the men “two for two” with their two shots. This deer was added to the civil restitution charges filed on the man who did the shooting.

Yes, cell phones can be a tremendous help in our line of work. Here is a big “ATTA BOY” to Sgt. Stokes for using this tool to our advantage in making a good case. Way to go!